


The Kindness of Strangers

by ArtemiS2



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, F/M, Love, Military Background, Romance, Veterinary Clinic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-15
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-04 17:33:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1787287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtemiS2/pseuds/ArtemiS2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are a veterinarian who has recently opened her own private practice in a quaint suburban town. You have Sasha as your secretary and Eren as your veterinary technician/right-hand man, and pass by most of your days doing what you love, treating and saving animals. That is until on a particular night, a stranger speeds into your office right before you're about to close with a brutalized, lifeless dog in his arms. This vagabond definitely has more than meets the eye even with a few skeletons in his closet...but that doesn't mean you're not without any secrets either.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Stranger in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction/short story ever written so please be kind and hope you enjoy! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Characters are all from the realm of Shingeki no Kyojin by Hajime Isayama and no financial profit is gained by these musings of mine. Plot and storylines are all from my semi-overly-imaginative mind and lastly, but not the very least, arigato to Hajime Isayama for his brilliant writings that fueled my very own :}

Switching out of business during your college years had been the best decision of your still-young-and-naive life. You somehow were able to graduate with a double major in molecular biology and chemistry yet still minor in finance to appease your parents at the time. But you know you made the right choice. You were destined for it every since you were young and wanted to do nothing more than to help and heal the innocent beings of this world whose only disability was the lack of a human tongue for language. You even further proved it when you graduated as salutatorian of your veterinary school.

It's only been a few months now since you've opened up your very own veterinarian practice, specializing in small animals. Located in a quiet suburban town, close enough to the city but far enough away for some peace and quiet, you liked that everything was sparkling new.

As a veterinarian with an understandable aversion to germs, you preferred that everything be neat and clean at all times. Every morning, you truly enjoyed putting on a crisp, fresh lab coat. Remnant of your finance-interning days, you still wear business casual attire underneath the coat, usually going for a pencil skirt and silk blouse or other work-appropriate dress. Forgetting to check the weather for the rest of the day and seeing only sunshine outside your bedroom window, you went for a form-fitting lilac, scoop-neck wool crepe dress that hit just above your knees with comfortable nude wedge pumps.

For now, the only other people employed at your clinic are your fresh-out-of-college secretary Sasha Braus and veterinarian technician, Eren Yeager. Those two definitely keep the patients and you here entertained.

Sasha usually has her brunette hair up in a ponytail with sweet nutella-colored eyes. Speaking of food, you've always thought you had a voracious appetite, but you quickly had to admit defeat once you met Sasha. Whenever you brought over some sandwiches or homemade lasagna for them to eat for lunch, poor Eren had only lettuce leftover.

You immediately made a mental note to save Eren his own portion whenever food was involved. Other than her slight obsession and hoarding of food, Sasha is great at her job and wonderful with the animals and owners. Warm, friendly, and always welcoming. Your clients enjoy speaking and catching up with her, so much so that quite frequently, their pets have already been waiting for their owners to go home for over half an hour.

Eren is also very friendly, albeit sometimes a bit too friendly with you, with determined green-turquoise eyes, but tends to get overly zealous in regards to the animals, especially when it comes to their check-ups or treatments. Unintentionally, he ends up giving hour-long lectures to some of your clients on how they should properly clean and groom their pets, even down to the nitty-gritty details and going as far as showing them how to brush their individual teeth. Although you do admire his passion, it does go a bit overboard at times. Luckily, a lot of your clients appreciate his ardor for their animals' well-being and haven't complained yet.

As there was no other veterinary practice within a 30-mile radius of this quaint town, you became quite popular and busy very quickly. You loved meeting new patients and seeing old friends, usually for check-ups or minor surgeries here and there. One of your favorite patients is this darling cream-colored French Bulldog who would always lie down with her belly-side up on top of the table silently begging for a belly rub and liver treats, usually simultaneously, and close her eyes in pure bliss when she is getting her usual belly-rub massage from you.

Unfortunately, not every patient can be healed with just liver treats and a belly rub. There were times when you really questioned the true humanity of this world, or lack thereof. One such instance was when a poor Pit bull puppy, not even 1-year old, had deep gashes all over his body, some cuts even revealing slivers of bloodied white bone, with punctured holes on his face from what you imagine were attributed to canine bites, with fresh blood still oozing from most of his wounds. You surmised he had been a victim of an illegal dogfight and was probably used as a bait dog, and from the looks of it, discarded onto the streets to die as his purpose was fulfilled until a kind samaritan brought him here.

Disgusting beasts disguised as humans who could even fathom doing such atrocious crimes should be rightfully punished as you no longer considered them a part of humanity. And you wished within the deepest corners of your heart, that _you_ could be the one to give them their deserved form of justice. Although you do have almost two decades worth of martial arts training under your belt, you by no means would ever consider vigilante work, not that you even have much time for that seeing how busy your schedule is these days. But you would be completely lying to yourself if you said that thought had never crossed your mind...

Alas, tonight would be one of those heartbreaking nights. Fortunately, you didn't think such negative thoughts at the moment as the loud crackling of thunder in the stormy sky kept your mind preoccupied. It had been pouring all afternoon with the rain slapping against your lobby's glass double doors and windows mercilessly. You could barely see the slowly flooding street outside, completely barren of any cars with only surges of water blurring everything in sight.

As such, you had a relatively slow day as some of your appointments were unsurprisingly rescheduled. Glancing at the big circular clock hanging on the left side of your lobby, you noticed that it's 30 minutes till 8PM, almost your closing time. As such, you persuaded Sasha and Eren to head out already as you preferred they take the extra few minutes to drive home carefully. You highly doubted anyone would come in at this time and didn't want to keep them here during this tempestuous storm. 

“Make sure you go home soon too, first name  !” Sasha exclaimed as she hurriedly left through the door with a bright pink umbrella shielding her from the rain. You chuckled as you imagine she must have a very important date to risk her life in this weather for, or a delicious dinner. Either of those two scenarios were equally probable.

“Be careful not to speed through this weather, first name . Call me if **anything** happens or if you need me!” Eren said with deep concern in his eyes. He really is a sweet guy and always looks after your safety, even if a bit overbearing at times, and never really for his own.

“Don't worry, Eren, I'll be fine! It seems like the rain is starting to lessen anyway. You go ahead and be careful yourself! Whose the one who almost started a 5-car collision by stopping abruptly in the middle of the highway to let a goose and her family of baby geese waddle across...”

“Pfft, completely necessary and it's not like anyone got hurt!” He huffed, still appearing a bit concerned, but with your reassurance, he walked towards the front door but not without giving you a quick glance before heading out to leave completely.

You sigh, hoping that whatever that is, is completely platonic and not something you'd have to deal with or have an awkward conversation over. Even though you see Eren as a brotherly figure, wanting to take care of him and watching out for his well-being, you had the unfortunate inkling that he somehow didn't and wanted something more. Brushing that thought aside for now at least, you glance at the hanging clock again.

Now with 15 minutes left till 8 o'clock, you are considering to start packing your things as well. That was until you saw a bright red car screeching and breaking in front of your practice. The driver than retrieves something in his back seat and rushes into your lobby with clothes drenched to the bone. He has jet black hair with slight bangs that are now sticking to both sides of his face, dripping with water. His knee-high leather boots are sloshing all over your just-wiped floor, which almost makes you cringe, seeing all the mud that is now being flung everywhere.

But you don't even get a second to react to the mess as you immediately see what the stranger is holding in his deceptively strongly-built arms. Thanks to the rain and him wearing a white, linen shirt, his torso becomes nearly visible as the thin cloth desperately clings closely to his skin. You can see the outlines of his pecs clearly and his biceps stretching through the taut fabric.

Pushing that inappropriate image away from your mind, you see in his arms what seems to be a bundle of bones covered in long, golden hairs but matted with large clumps of mud and blood all over her body. From what you can visibly see from the counter, she looks like a Golden Retriever-mix, unconscious, with at least a few broken bones as you can see her legs jutting out in angles it normally anatomically shouldn't.

You look at the stranger's piercingly grey eyes with concern but before you can even open your mouth to say anything, he opens his.

“Car accident. Left to die.” He says hoarsely and a bit rushed, almost in a whisper.

As curt as he is, you immediately assess and understand the situation. This poor, unconscious soul was a victim of a hit-and-run. Even more unforgivable due to the torrential downpour outside, she really would have died if this stranger did not bring her in. With no time to even get angry at the faceless wrongdoer, you bring out a cart to gently lay the dog onto.

“Do you wish to come into the examination room with her?” You ask the stranger.

“I will wait here.” He calmly says. _Wow, this guy doesn't say more than five words at a time, huh._

You kind of worry that this guy will just leave once you're examining her inside, but you go ahead and cart her to a room anyway. Even if he does leave her here, she still deserves proper treatment and the right to live. _At least he had the decency to pickup this dog and bring her here. I wonder what kind of person he is? He must have a kind soul though to save a stray dog..._

As you thought from your initial glance before, her x-rays show that her front left leg is broken in two places and has cuts and bruises all along the lower half of her body, but besides those superficial wounds and her broken leg, she miraculously seems okay internally.

Through all the horror and pain she had to go through, you figure a bright blue cast could do her some good. Although a common misnomer, dogs aren't actually completely colorblind and can actually see variations of blue and yellow, so maybe the bright blue will cheer her up even if it's a tiny bit.

You also gently put on her a soft brown-leather collar and leash you had lying around here. She is a such a good dog, not even making a sound when you were giving her injections or moving around her broken leg for the x-rays. _Ugh, what scum of the Earth would abandon an innocent creature like you._

Regardless, you hope her savior wouldn't abandon her either and slowly walk alongside her in the hallway that leads to the lobby. To your surprise, the stranger with a stoic expression was still waiting and sitting on a lounge chair with his legs crossed. As soon as he saw the dog walking towards him, although limping a bit, you swear you saw the slightest of smiles across his face. Unfortunately it was a bit too brief for you to actually see it properly so you're not sure if your mind is just playing tricks on you.

“I fit her with a nice, durable cast and just be careful not to get it directly wet. As it's pouring outside, I fit her with what is basically a boot rain jacket to keep most, if not all, potential rainwater from seeping through. Here are also some topical creams, pain medicine and antibiotics with directions for each in the bag. Just be sure to bring her back for a checkup after four weeks and hopefully within 8-10 weeks we can get that cast off of her.” You hand him her leash and bag of medication and start heading towards the front desk.

The stranger abruptly grabs your arm with a bit too much strength than intended as you wince a bit from the sudden pain.

“Tch, didn't mean to do that...but what exactly am I supposed to do with her?” He asks with seemingly genuine concern in his eyes despite his slightly menacing tone. His face is still stoic as hell.

You glance from his face to the dog and back to his face in a bit of confusion yourself. You worry maybe this guy _will_ end up abandoning her...

“I won't just leave her here, but I honestly wouldn't know how to take care of a dog. I don't even live around here and was just passing through when I saw this poor thing lying on the side of the road after I saw some ugly-ass van speeding away. I mean, I don't want her to have to sleep with me in my car in her condition.”

You physically sigh a breath of relief and a bit shock as this is the most he's spoken all night. If you put aside his uncouth language choices, he seems like he does actually sincerely care about the dog. You involuntarily smile at the sweet thought of this stranger being more than what meets the eye and what else he could be seemingly sweet at...

But wait, this guy is from out-of-town and doesn't have a place to stay. And you unfortunately already know that the couple of inns and hotels in town definitely are not dog-friendly. _Oh crap. What can he do? Maybe he can camp out in the lobby while you can take the dog home? Ohmygosh, what are you saying, of course you can't subject someone to that! Jeez, is this a time to call Eren? What to do, what to do...??_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bah did I make the introduction to the story a bit too long? Too tiring? :P sigh I wanted to get more into the stranger's/Levi's background but thought the first chapter was a bit too long as it is...=.=;; please let me know your feedback and thoughts!


	2. A Stranger in your Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, that escalated quickly. Being strangers only a few hours ago but now he is coming into your home and just finished introducing himself as Levi Ackerman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi. So throughout the story, I use italics whenever its either you or a character thinking aloud to him/herself. Hopefully it's clear who's the one thinking aloud but let me know if there's any confusion!

Well, that escalated quickly. Being strangers only a few hours ago but now he is coming into your home and just finished introducing himself as Levi Ackerman.  _There's something about him...I can't put my finger on it but he definitely is an intriguing character, as if I'm being physically drawn to him._

The front door closes behind the both of you and automatically locks itself as you hear the comforting, familiar double beep in confirmation as steel rods commence to lock into place inside the metal, front door. You have always been paranoid about safety and ensured that your entire home was fitted with the most advanced security system in the world, thanks to your dad's genius creations.  _Never again will unwelcome guests be granted access inside._

You live in a fairly large house, in reality, a modern mansion, all by yourself and have guest rooms to spare. You really should move to a smaller home that'll be easier to maintain but you can't just let this place go...

The house itself is a glass and steel marvel, reinforced to make almost all sides of the home bulletproof, and yet offers an open layout with views of the beautiful cliffs below and vegetation outside from every room.  

With space to spare, there was no way you could just abandon someone with an the injured dog as it seemed like they had nowhere else to go. You decide to give him a tour of the place, hoping to ease some of the awkward silence growing between the both of you like an every-expanding smoke cloud. The dog on the other hand decides to rest instead and snuggled herself into a comfortable spot on the couch in the living room. _  
_

You show him where the living room, library, dining room, and kitchen are as they're all located on the first floor. The master suite and the three guest bedrooms with their accompanying en suites atop the spiral staircase to the second floor can wait to be toured a bit later. Although only on the first leg of the tour, you ask if he'd like any tea or refreshments as both of you are currently in the kitchen. Frankly, you're a bit peckish from the night you just endured and as you take a quick glance at your watch, realize it's already half past midnight, and completely forgot about dinner.

"Tea will be fine"

"Any kind? I also have some food that you..."

"Tea is fine," he curtly cuts you off without specifying, although he doesn't mean to be abrasive.

 _Sigh._  Well, you might as well make your favorite tea, which is your own blend of chai with a hint of vanilla, so you can enjoy both the deep spices and slightly calming sweetness at this time of hour.

You put the drinks on a tray and bring them over to the white carrara marble island in the middle of your kitchen towards the end where Levi is sitting. As always, your mother was right, the marble completely lightens up the kitchen but at the same emphasizes anything dark that may get onto it, like dirt, dust, blood. You gently place the warm teacup on its coaster in front of him along with some shortbread and lemon biscuits and sit across the table from him.  

You didn't have the opportunity for a decent conversation until now because both of you drove over in your respective vehicles. To be honest, it's probably because he didn't want to be caught dead in the passenger seat of your cute pearly white Smart Car (which isn't  _as tiny_  as he scoffed it off to be), but you can't really blame him.

Why? Because his mode of transportation was in the glorious form of a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 in a luscious Bordeaux-red. Absolutely draw-droppingly gorgeous. You definitely wouldn't have minded riding in the passenger seat of that car... _  
_

Deciding to drink some of your tea to subside your car fantasies, you cannot help but notice his fingers peculiarly holding the top of his teacup, as if his hand is either trying to protect its contents or suffocate the poor thing. You caught yourself unabashedly squinting and staring but realized, he'd actually been staring at you the entire time since you've set the tea and sat down.

_Hmm, I wonder who will cave first..._

You bring the cup to your lips once more and take another sip, praying that he'll be the first one to speak, or even just make some kind of noise. Minutes pass by, which feel like hours, as you two are literally staring into each others' eyes without uttering a word until you couldn't take it anymore and mentally waved a white flag, scrunching your forehead a bit in obvious defeat.

He definitely noticed your inner turmoil and even the exact moment you acquiesced. He had the tiniest smirk on his face right before you spoke, which you unfortunately missed as you were too busy waving the imaginary white flag inside your mind.

Clearly unable to take the silent-but-staring treatment anymore, you semi-jokingly blurt out,

"You're not some serial killer are you?"

Levi almost spits out the tea that's in his mouth from the absurd question and seemingly senseless naiveté.

"Tch, do I  _look_ like a serial killer? And if I were, isn't it already too late as I'm already in your home?" He asks clearly rhetorically.

 _Ah, that's true._ But candidly thinking, he didn't look like the most innocent person either. Looking at him properly, he reminds you of James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause," sporting a deep, burnished red leather jacket with a crisp white crew-neck tee underneath that are tucked into some well-fitted blue jeans. Hoping that your relatively sound judge of character was still sharp (as he _did_  help save that abandoned pup), you decide to move onto a less damning question.

"So, how do you spend most of your days, Levi?"

"Driving around the country with a suitcase in my car." He answers nonchalantly. 

"Oh? What do you do for work?" You inquire curiously, imagining it must be nice to live so carefree, and hoping it's not too invasive a question.

"Was in the military...but I'm retired." He replies, with the same stoic expression he's had most of the night.

"Ehh? Don't you get...bored? What do you do all day?" You ask incredulously.  _You don't even look that old..._ but then again, you've been quite terrible at telling people's ages, usually to their benefit as you always seemed to genuinely guess at least a decade younger than reality. Still, he's nowhere near the age of retirement and he still seems pretty fit even while wearing clothes... _And he's e_ _x-m_ _ilitary?_ Small red flags go off in your head but you choose not to pry into it, for now, and wait for his answer.

"Taking it easy and trying to enjoy life." He calmly sighs.

Jeez, you're really beginning to abhor his short answers that explain almost nothing. He sees you scrunching your brows in frustration and accidentally chuckles for half a second before stopping himself. 

 _You laughed! Well, more like half of a chuckle, but still. I was beginning to think you were void of all human emotions._ This thought makes you smile as a few soft tendrils of your hair frame your delicate face as if hoping to catch a glimpse of your smile as well. Although you never believed it, everyone has always told you, you are breathtakingly beautiful whenever you do genuinely smile. It's just a shame it has become such a rare occurrence over the years.

And Levi would have agreed with the masses and had to actually look away to calm his steadily rouging cheeks. He felt his heart skip a beat and it now feels like his heartbeat is excessively racing in attempts to catch-up to the prior missed beat.  _Tch, what am I thinking. Levi, get a hold of yourself and stop acting like some pre-pubescent teenager. She's just being too nice and probably smiles like that for anyone and everyone. Don't forget your mission and why you're actually here, Levi._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eep I know, you're probably thinking lots of loose ends/unanswered questions but I'm hoping to address everything in the next few chapters! please let me know if there's anything in particular you wish to know more about~


	3. A Stranger in your Kitchen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after your late-night chat with Levi. You plan to head downstairs and prepare some delectable breakfast for your recently acquainted guest and yourself.

The sun's rays tickle your lashes slightly awake as its warmth and light permeates throughout your expansive room. Waking up before your alarm, you're still glad that it's Sunday, at least mentally giving you the  _option_  to sleep in.

Even though you went to bed soon after last night's conversation with Levi in the kitchen, that was still after two in the morning, and now your eyelids are struggling a bit to remain open. With tiredly-blurred vision, you glance at the handmade Howard Miller grandfather clock in the corner of your room, which has been in your family for generations, melodiously chime to tell you it's nine in the morning.

The rest of the house definitely contains a contemporary and modern style of décor, making this room appear as an anomaly of sorts, but you fought with your parents hard while they were renovating the entire house. You wanted to maintain the Victorian style your parents originally furnished this particular room with ever since you were a little girl.

You didn't dare want to change a thing then or now. 

With tufted ivory furniture beautifully padded with ornate wood carvings chiseled by hand, any girl would truly feel like a princess in this room. But still, all of this is just an illusion enveloped by memories, as the only thing you truly wanted in this world is no longer a part of it.

 _Ah, might as well get up and make breakfast, now that it's not just me._   _Thinking about breakfast,_ _I can already smell the bacon and eggs in my head._ Never one to be able to fall back asleep easily anyway and with your stomach slightly grumbling from the food you just imagined smelling, you decide to go downstairs and make it into a reality.

After freshening up for a few minutes, you slip on a pastel, pink silk robe over your delicate white lace nightgown, which would reveal a bit too much skin for you to comfortably allow mere acquaintances to see, and loosely tie it around your waist.

As you gracefully come down the grand, helicoidal staircase towards the kitchen, you gasp internally as you realize you are not the first one there.

Without acknowledging your presence, Levi continues looking down at the frying pans he's stirring food into. Frying  _pans_. Three of them bubbling up with heavenly goodness that your nose can already pick up on without even having to see them; bacon, eggs, pancakes.  _Wait, your kitchen somehow appears even more spotless than before. Did he **clean**_ _it before making breakfast??_

"Hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of using some of your cookware and ingredients."

 _Well, it's a bit too late to mind now._  And if anything, this scene is making you feel a bit nostalgic as it reminded you of when your mother would cook breakfast in the morning. It was kind of nice.

Wait. Is he even wearing your pink with white polka dot apron? You blinked your eyes a couple of times unable to believe what you're seeing. You couldn't help but let a small smile and muffled laughter escape from your fresh, morning face.

Levi stole a glimpse of it again, but there was no way in hell he'd let you realize. He had been up an hour earlier because the dog woke him up from his deep slumber, begging to go outside. After a brisk walk, he couldn't go back to sleep and figured he might as well be productive by making some breakfast.

He  _definitely_ wasn't hoping that you would somehow smell it all the way from the kitchen to your bedroom and wake up from the deliciousness to join him. Obviously not _._

Seeing the scowl on his face, you wonder if he expected a reply to his rhetorical statement and quickly say,

"Not at all. If anything, thank you for making breakfast. Is there anything I can help you with?" Walking towards the seats on the kitchen island, facing his back, you feel a bit useless just sitting there with nothing to do. 

"No, just sit there." He briskly replies, as if your assistance would ruin the very food he's preparing somehow. 

Uncomfortable with doing absolutely nothing, you decide to at least set the table and prepare some orange juice. You also feed the dog some breakfast of boiled chicken and brown rice you usually have prepared in case you take home strays/injured dogs for a night or two. 

"You know, you should give her a name." You say, petting the dog gently as she's devouring her meal.

"I just call her dog." He says with indifference. 

 _...pfft, what, you think you're Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's now?_ You think silently in your head but instead choose to say,

"Well, maybe a more...personal name would fit her a bit better..."

"Ugh," he scoffs, "Then Mikasa, or Mika for short." He replies uncouthly, as the dog somehow reminded you of a prior comrade of yours who possessed not only the strength to fight, but the strength to survive. 

"Mikasa, what a pretty name. Pleasure to formally meet you, Mika" You coo, and even the newly-named dog seems to like the sound of it as she looks up at you with her ears perked up in response. 

Levi finally turns around balancing three plates filled with bacon, eggs and pancakes on his arms. 

"Wow, everything looks delicious! Thanks again for cooking breakfast, Levi."

"Uh huh," he briskly mumbles, wordlessly putting onto his plate his portions of food. You silently do the same, a bit defeated by his complete lack of social etiquette or just not giving a rat's ass of communicating with you. 

Still, not much of a proponent of silent meals, you boldly ask him about his prior military life. Your father worked for the military as well, and as your curiosity got the better of you, you couldn't help but ask this time around.

You can visibly see the displeasure and annoyance on his face from your question.  _I hope I didn't hit a nerve, but he did mention it himself last night that he used to work in the military..._

"I served on the 1st SFOD-D, or what was known as Delta Force, until I received an injury during a covert operation of capturing Abu Ana al-Liby in Libya."

"What! You mean the same guy who was suspected for organizing the bombings of U.S. embassies and linking to Al Qaeda? You were part of the team who captured him?!" You ask in shocked admiration.

He briefly lifts his eyes wider in surprise, slightly impressed that you are this aware of political and military events of the world. He pegged you as some altruistic veterinarian princess holing herself up in a glass bubble. However, not even a split second passes by when he resumes his stoic gaze and story.

"I led the team. After we captured him and were preparing to take him under U.S. custody, a man appeared on the middle of the street, shouting and cursing while flailing his arms around, one of which held a firearm. It was a semi-automatic pistol."

"In between us and the gunman, there was a small village girl who was running from one side of the street to the other, most likely towards her home as I saw an older woman opening the door and waving her inside quickly. Unfortunately, the gunman didn't care for the child as his targets were us, and sensing that, I ran towards the little girl to try and shield her from the pending onslaught of bullets."

"Only three bullets escaped from that pistol's chamber as our hidden sniper shot him down immediately after it was fired. Still, three bullets had been freed from their steel prisons. The first ricocheted off the side of a house, the second lodged itself just above my left ankle, and the third pierced through the girl's frontal bone of her skull, just a bit above her right eyebrow. I didn't see it at first as I was holding her with her face towards my chest, but the smallest sliver of her face had been unprotected, right under my arm. By the time I even realized, she had already died and the only decent thing I could do is close her eyes and limp towards the woman by the doorway, carrying her in my arms."

Even though you never cry anymore, you imagine your eyes watering from the story. Without even thinking, you reach across the table and tenderly put your soft, dainty hands on his dry, callused ones that are still holding his teacup oddly atop the coaster. You look at him with sincere eyes, wanting to convey that you truly can empathize when one feels truly hopeless from unnecessary loss and wordlessly give a slight nod for him to continue.

Levi, a bit annoyed by your sudden gesture but not wanting to risk swatting your hands away and spilling his tea, he ignores it and continues.

"I've seen many innocent children die in front of me and probably have even caused many to their deaths, but that was the first time I tried to actively protect a civilian and failed. She didn't need to die. No good came out of her death. Completely avoidable and needless. On top of that, after removing the bullet from my leg, the medics informed me that although I'll be able to walk just fine, I won't be able to do anything strenuous on it like running."

"Thus, I was given an honorable discharge, and combining the money I've saved up over the years along with the benefits I receive, have been driving and traveling around the country."

You're a bit speechless, not only because of his semi-life story but because this is probably the first time he's uttered more than two sentences to you consecutively. 

"You have no desire to go back? Or at least into that type of field work?" 

"No, not at all." He blurts out. You sensed a bit of hesitance and wondered if he was trying to hide something...

"So, what about you? What's your story." He quickly asks, more like demanding, perhaps trying to fill the hesitance from before. However, you gently counter with,

"My story? It's not particularly breakfast-appropriate conversation...so maybe over dinner and drinks. Don't really want to start off my day morbidly gloomy." You glance towards him with an attempt at a superficial smile but the sadness in your eyes is all too evident. 

Taking the hint, Levi resists persisting you anymore on the topic and starts clearing his and your plates. He already knows from reading up on your family's intel that your parents had been killed in some botched robbery with you somehow being the only sole survivor, but didn't know the specific details. Although curiosity is gnawing at him and patience isn't one of his strongest virtues, he decides to distract himself by fully committing to cleaning the dishes (something that always seems to calm him down).  _I guess I'll just have to wait until later tonight..._


	4. A Stranger Sunday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> made a couple of edits/updates that hopefully help this chapter flow a bit better~

_What an exhausting Sunday._

And it was not because of the pro bono and volunteering work you did with the animals at the shelter earlier today, which you've done every Sunday ever since you were young.  _People_  were behind your exhaustion. 

A bit after breakfast, you invited Levi to come to the animal shelter with you as part of your Sunday morning routine. After much unnecessary persuasion, he so kindly acquiesced and agreed to ride with you in your Smart Car.  _Environment for the win._

For the next half hour, while driving a few towns over, you surprisingly learned a lot about Levi. How he grew up in the ghettos without any parents, survived, but through certain circumstances was browbeaten to join the military where he excelled throughout the ranks and elites, which then led to his current state of retirement. You felt acute anguish when he told you about his earlier childhood, growing up without any parents.

Losing yours too soon brought a deep agonizing pain throughout your body, an ever-present and constant numbing reminder of what you've lost, or in reality, what was brutally taken from you. But to imagine never having your parents at all? You couldn't even fathom that kind of existence, having an eternal hole reside in your heart that could never be completely filled...

After parking your car and getting out, you closed your car door and were about to turn around, when you were abruptly seized from behind. Instinct took over immediately but even before your reflexes could kick in, you no longer felt the sudden attacker on you. You looked around, a bit confused as to how everyone had suddenly vanished, when you lowered your gaze. Levi had the assailant pinned to the ground, with his right knee on the attacker's throat.

"OH MY GOD, Eren!?" You exclaimed in outright shock and confusion.

"Kch..aughh..." Eren, suffocating from the lack of oxygen and a relentless knee lodged into his throat, attempted but failed to speak properly.

"Levi, it's okay, let go of him! He's the veterinarian technician at my clinic!"

Although Levi's reflexes were too swift for even the human eye to follow properly, he took his sweet time to slowly release his knee from poor Eren's throat. 

"___f/n___! Agh...ack...Why haven't you picked up your cell phone or responded to any of my texts?! I was so worried something may have happened to you last night! And who the hell is this guy?" He demanded from you, after catching his breath and alleviating some of the pain in his throat and lungs.

You've never seen Eren so distraught or Levi with such a murderous glare. 

"Tsk, and who the fuck are you, attacking people in broad daylight, you little piece of shit." Levi spat out in the absence of your response. And you thought  _your_  story wasn't breakfast appropriate, you didn't realize Levi had the refined verbal etiquette of a bloody sailor. 

"Eren, please calm down. Levi came to the clinic last night with a stray dog that was hit by a car. She needed immediate care and afterwards, I realized that he nor the dog, had anywhere to go..." Using the most tranquil voice you could muster, you attempted to explain the situation to him and it seemed like he understood, but by no means did he approve of it, honing in on the fact that Levi was staying within the same house as you. That it was completely wrong and dangerous for you to house a stranger, a strange man no less. 

"If he really needs a place to stay, he can stay over at mine. There's no reason why you shou..."

Before you even realized, Eren's feet were dangling off the ground. Levi had grabbed Eren by the throat once more but this time lifted Eren's head way above his, until he allowed gravity to do its duty and let Eren's body crumble to the ground.

"It seems like words aren't getting to you, so I figured something more innately basic would." Levi scoffed. Although you were slightly horrified by the sudden scene, you couldn't deny the impressiveness of the feat you just witnessed.  _What the fuck, is he some mafia hooligan?!_ _He just lifted 140 pounds with **one arm**. Holy shit... _ Just lovely, now you're picking up on his fine language skills and it hasn't even been a full day. Still, that really was quite impressive...

"Eren, are you okay?! Levi! You can't just DO that to people!" Jolting back to reality, you quickly came to Eren's aid and helped him sit-up. 

"Ugh, how troublesome. At least now he will be saying less idiotic things." Levi said completely unfazed. 

You furrowed your eyebrows at Levi but attended to Eren again. You placed your soft hands along his jawline and gently pressed on Eren's neck with your outstretched fingers, for any signs of swelling or potential damage. You glided your fingers in light, circular motions all around his neck and throat.

Unbeknownst to you, Eren was relishing the feeling of your fingers on his neck a bit too much and almost let out a low moan. He quickly snapped back to reality and tried to cover up the embarrassment with a cough.

"Ah, you're coughing Eren, let me go and get you some water but it looks like you'll be fine with some slight bruising aside." You walked inside the shelter, apologizing for all the ruckus outside to the staff and requested for a cup of water.

"Pathetic," Levi sneered. Eren, realizing that Levi probably saw through everything, reddened from the mortification of it all. 

"Eren, are you feeling okay? Do you have a fever??" You came back with two cups of water in your hands and after handing one to Levi, you gave the other to Eren but became worried by his suddenly flushed face. You placed both your hands on his cheeks and then the backside of your hand onto his forehead and it did feel a tad warm, and seemed to be getting worse. 

"Let me take you home, it seems like you aren't feeling well and after all that's happened this morning, I wouldn't be surprised if you came down with something."

"I-I...I'm fine, ___f/n___! I mean, Dr. ___l/n___! I can drive home by myself. I'm just glad to see that you're okay." Eren hurried the last part as he speedily hobbled towards his car several yards away. 

Although confused by Eren's hasty departure, you're relieved he's well enough to do whatever stunted running attempt he just did. Although you don't have any siblings, you imagine if you did, it'd be similar to the way you feel about Eren as a younger brother. As passionate and strong willed as he is, you can't help but want to protect him from the baseness of human nature he is bound to run into or run into him.

Thankfully, the rest of your afternoon went by peacefully as you provided regular checkups to the sheltered animals that were due for one. When you reached home, it was already nearing the time for dinner. 

 _What an exhausting Sunday._  You sigh again mentally to yourself as you collapse onto your white-leather Chesterfield sofa in the living room.  _I'll rest my eyes for only a minute_...

* * *

 " _How was volunteering today, my little Angel?" Your father asks as you come in through the door, still referring to you as his little angel even after all these years._

_"It was great! I actually put to use some of the things I've been learning in my animal sciences courses." You beam back with a wide smile across your face. It truly was a wonderful day._

_Y_ _our nose immediately picks up on the homemade lasagna that your mom is cooking. As you run to the kitchen, you see your mom setting the table and attempt to steal a taste while she seems preoccupied._

_That's when you see it. That's when everyone sees it. The glowing red dot on the corner of your microwave, disguised as some useless button, pulsating. These sensors, located throughout your home, alert you when an intruder has broken through your gates and is within 25 feet of your house._

_"___f/n___, get to The Room, now. And_ **whatever** _happens, do not come out of it. Promise me."_

_"But Dad!! What's going on? Why can't you and mom come with me?!"_

_"They'll be looking and won't stop until they find us. Promise me."  You see your dad trashing dishware set for you on the table and rush back towards you. Both your dad and mom look at you with sincere but the saddest eyes you have ever seen._

_"I love you, my little Angel. Whatever you do, you have to be safe and remain in The Room."_

_"I love you both so much."  You say after a quick embrace from both of your parents. For some reason, you had the most awful sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach and an aching pain in your heart you couldn't explain._

_The Room is a small 10-feet by 6-feet room hidden within family's study. To gain access, you need to pull on five books from five different bookcases consecutively, and with thousands upon thousands of books spread across two floors, it'd be impossible to enter without knowing the specific books to look for and the order in which to pull. For you, it was easy. It was your top five novels of all time and in the order your father have given them to you to read._

_The first is Animal Farm by George Orwell, second is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, third is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, fourth is Candide by Voltaire, and the last is Ulysses by James Joyce. The third book case from your right gradually begins to open and you quickly go through it, quietly closing it behind you._

_The Room is literally a steel box with monitors and cameras lining the walls, giving you access to everything that's happening on the first floor of your home. You see your parents still in the kitchen and quickly put on the headphones so that you can hear what they're saying. Unfortunately, their voices are too quiet for you to decipher anything when suddenly you hear a loud **BOOM** from a door being completely blown off from where it connects to your garage. _

_Two men suddenly barge in through the newly created opening wearing a light brown jacket with a white-haired green unicorn logo emblazoned on their backs. As unfamiliar you are with their insignia, the second thing you immediately notice is their weapons, and you quickly zoom in to confirm that they're in fact carrying military grade firearms. Is one of them carrying grenades on his belt?! Who the hell are they?_

_"Yo, Ralph, aren't there supposed to be three of them?" Yells the darker-haired man._

_"Yea, there's supposed to be a daughter. Maybe we can just take her with us instead of killing her. She's supposedly a rare and exotic beauty."_

_The darker-haired man ignores the latter part of what his partner says, knowing full well that if his mission was to eradicate everyone within this family, he will make sure every single one dies on his hands._

_"Djel, why don't you go searching around here for the girl. I'll take care of these two."_

_"Our daughter is currently not at home."_

_"Where the hell is she then?!" Djel visibly showing some anger on his face and voice. Looking around, he notices the dining table but only sees table settings for two people, kicking himself for not double-checking where the girl is._

_"She's currently a girl attending university, it's impossible to know where she is 24/7." Your father composedly replies back._

_"Is that so? I'm surprised you don't have some software or a tracker embedded into your_ **_precious, little Angel_ ** _." Chills went through your spine, paralyzing your body to continue watching and listening to the horrific scene unfolding before you._

_"Don't you dare even think of laying a finger on her. Tell me exactly what the MP Brigade wants and it's yours." You can hear the silent pleading in his voice and grip at your pounding chest._

_"Don't play dumb with me. Come on, you've already done such a great service to humanity, creating the technology that perfected our mass globalized surveillance system."_

_You remember your father mentioning something like that before....mass globalized surveillance. You knew your father worked in securities technology for the government, although you never quite understood the specifics, nor its extent. Wondering why your father, or the government for that matter, would want to essentially spy on their own citizens on a national scale, your father reassured you that it was to be used for the benefit of the country, to fight terrorism, to prevent insurrections, to shield children from pedophiles, and to protect our nation's security, if not other countries' as well._

_Djel continues after a momentary pause._

_"Aggregating and extracting all of that information, right from people's phones, computers, televisions, even their own home security systems...It's truly beautiful. All I'm asking of you is to finish your mission. Complete your work. Give us the coding and software that will allow us to the reverse. To implant data and information through those exact same devices and systems."_

_That's insane. The government basically wants to use your father's technology to not only track the citizen's every movement and conversation, but to embed into them whatever information the government wants you to believe. What heinous madness. Is that even possible?! Through high frequency transmitters? Microwaves? Subliminal messaging?_

_"You're mad," you father persists, holding onto your mother tightly as he speaks, "There's no such thing and even if there were, it should be destroyed rather than utilized by the government."_

_"Au contraire, why destroy such a beautiful thing? Beauty should be spread and shared with everyone." Djel's eyes hone in onto your father's, as if he's peering straight through your father's skull to find out what he's thinking._

_"What a pity, I really was looking forward to testing that technology out...and it really doesn't seem like you're going to be of any assistance to us anymore, huh?" Djel's eyes dilate, in a frightening calm rage with a curving grin, as his fingers grip his holster and pull out an automatic revolver._ **_BANG......BANG......_ **

_"No, no, no, no, no..." You mindlessly think to yourself, your brain unable to properly register what your eyes have just witnessed. One bullet cut right through your mother's chest, the top of her light pink dress rapidly getting swallowed by a wave of red. The second bullet pierced right through your father's skull, his eyes still locked on your mother's with loving sadness._

_When you see the two bodies curving in towards each other, slowly slumping down to the kitchen floor beneath them on the monitor screen, your mouth opens to cry out in pure agony, but only your silenced screams can be heard. You know that no one can hear you in this sound-proofed room, but the pain is so excruciating, the bones in your body feel like they're splintering and shattering within you, making you somehow speechless from it all._

_Tears take the place of the absence of your voice, as they stream down your face continuously enough to trickle down onto your keyboard. The only sounds escaping your heaving body are the pockets of air your lungs attempt to respire but failing miserably to do so as the only conscious thing you seem to be able to do is stare into the blurred monitors, praying that the two lifeless bodies somehow get up from the floor._

* * *

"___f/n___! ___f/n___!! " Levi came rushing into the living room when he heard you heaving and sounding like you couldn't breathe, afraid you were choking on something. But when he came to see where you were lying down, your body was deathly still but as if your lower half was disconnected from your torso, your chest was panting up and down rapidly. He saw that your eyes seemed peacefully closed until he noticed the tears running down your cheeks, landing on the couch and already forming small puddles. 

"___f/n___!"

You feel a warm presence around you and someone's hands embracing your lithe arms, which is odd because there definitely wasn't anyone else with you in that room. You then feel a soft caress on your cheek, forcing your mind to open your eyes physically and figure out what's causing the unfamiliar sensations. 

"Shit, I thought you were going through anaphylactic shock or worse..." Levi, with worried eyes, mumbles more to himself but you could hear the tinge of concern he had in his muffled voice, as he's sitting on the floor but with your head lying down on the couching, coming close to eye level with him. What gorgeous eyes you see, reminding you of a deep steel blue sky during a chilly winter's day. 

"I'm fine, just a bad dream," you take a deep breathe and try to brush it off, but realize you're a bit startled yourself from that nightmare. It has already been five years and you haven't shed a single tear since then, imaging you've cried your lifetime's worth of tears during that day alone with nothing more left. The nightmares have also become less frequent over the years, although they still persistently haunt you from time to time, but this is the first time you were so physically affected by it. Or perhaps this is just the first instance you noticed the disturbing physical state these memories caused you since you had someone to help you snap out of it sooner.

As your mind slowly comes back to its senses, you now feel the slight shiver of a cool breeze upon your moistened cheeks and realize Levi's face is just inches away from yours. You quickly sit up from the unexpected intimacy, pushing yourself up with your arms away from his face and body.

"Here." Levi hands you a simple white handkerchief, motioning that its for your tears. 

"Thank you," you sigh, grateful that you don't have to wipe the tears away on your hands and bring the handkerchief to your flushed face.  _Such a distinctive, clean smell. A bit of cedar, _sandalwood_  and touch of leather. I wonder if this is Levi's scent..._

"I've prepared dinner already, so if you're hungry, let's eat before it gets cold." Levi suggests as he gets up from the couch and walks towards the kitchen. But after a few steps, he briefly pauses to turn around and look at you, checking to see if you are indeed alright. After nodding to himself that you seem okay for the moment at least, he continues to the kitchen.

Only then does your mind register the mouthwatering aroma coming from his direction, with the faintest grumble from your stomach in complete agreement. Both your mind and stomach motivate your legs to follow suit. 

"It's not much but I wasn't sure where everything was and whipped up something with whatever I could find in your massive kitchen." Levi says waiting for you to sit down before he does himself, and you notice that your chair had been slightly pulled out for you. Before your brain could register the subtle gestures Levi hoped you'd notice, you see the plate in front of you.  

"Is that _truffle_ linguine!? And with chopped tomatoes, slivers of pancetta, fresh basil leaves..." Trailing off towards the end as you are in such a state of shock that for one thing, your kitchen even contained these ingredients, and the other, that Levi concocted such a lovely meal from random things he was able to find in your kitchen.  _Where the hell is the truffle oil hidden?!_ You wonder, and make a mental note to ask your maid the next time she comes as it is too mortifying to ask Levi, your guest, where things in your own kitchen are located.

"Wow, this looks absolutely delectable! You could seriously become a professional chef." You gush, still truly in awe, mouth watering at the sight and smell of it all. 

"This is nothing, just some things I've learned while living on my own. Anyone can cook up pasta." Levi casually responds, having already placed his napkin on his lap, he picks up a fork. 

_Another mental note, learn to make pasta properly..._

"Nonetheless, thank you, Levi, for before...and all of this." You gently smile at him, truly thankful for everything that's transpired throughout the past twenty-four hours. Although you were never one to feel lonely and frankly enjoyed your time alone, being relatively independent even when you were young, you realize you do miss coming home to someone throughout the years.

Levi, who was only but a complete stranger 24 hours ago, has helped you recognize parts of yourself you believed had been locked away or lost completely. You truly are grateful to him for so many reasons. So very thankful to have someone that wakes you from your nightmares, to have someone that comforts you, to have someone that cooks for you, but perhaps most importantly, to have someone that gives you reasons to smile and gradually warms your reserved heart. 


	5. A Stranger Intimacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> eep, so this is a bit more lemony than i had imagined so changed the rating of the story :P be warnedd~~

It felt like only seconds had gone by while the two of you became increasingly captivated by each others' stories, dreams, and nightmares for hours, as the moonlight's glow ascended to its peak within the midnight sky. Although both of you led completely different lives and lifestyles, the two of you somehow came upon the same ultimate fear and goal. Both of your objectives were the same, to never lose anyone close to either of you, which even stranger still, the senseless solution  _both_ of you came up with is to completely distance yourselves from everyone so that even the opportunity to get close to someone will never arise.

While he stubbornly insisted on clearing the table and washing the dishes, making you feel a bit uncomfortable that a guest was essentially doing your own house chores even after preparing the dinner, you figured you'd make yourself useful and take out a nice bottle of wine from your haven in the cellar. 

* * *

 You really do love it in here. Tucked away underneath your house, it is world of its own. With a grand wooden archway marking the entrance with thick, natural limestone lining the walls and pillars of the impressive space, it mimicked that of an expansive, old French wine cellar. With walls fifteen feet high covered in rows of wine. Because each section is specifically temperature controlled for the particular wine it housed, it is a bit chilly in here. 

In the middle of the space towards one end held a massive slab of teak wood atop two antique wine barrels, creating an aesthetically unique table. With a long, cushioned bench along one side and chairs lining the rest of the table, it created a very welcoming space to entertain guests. When your parents used to entertain that is. You've never brought anyone here yourself, or rather, never even invited anyone to your home for the past few years with the exception of Levi.

A bit lost in your thoughts, you gravitate towards the glass chamber of wines, containing within your most treasured collections.  _Mmm, the 1982 Chateau Petrus Pomerol, that sounds lovely..._

You bought two of that particular bottle of wine at an auction a couple of years back and although you paid several grand for the both of them, in retrospect, it was a bargain as a case of them at a recent Christie's auction sold for close to $55,000. The wine is full-bodied with a dark, ruby garnet coloring encapsulated by intense tobacco, cedar and berry-fruit flavors with a hint of caramel. A supposedly silky, firm luscious drink, a true beauty by many Bordeaux enthusiasts.  _I think this would perfectly complement the meal and our guest..._ _  
_

Already imagining and anticipating the sea of flavors to hit your lips and the delight the taste buds on your tongue, you didn't even hear anyone walking down the steps to where you are. Levi was wondering what the hell was taking you so long to choose a bottle of wine.

You suddenly feel a warm, masculine hand on your shoulder and by pure reflex, ready your own hands forming fists to defend but unfortunately forgot that you also had been holding onto a bottle of wine.

As if in slow motion, your eyes saw your precious bottle dropping farther away from you and becoming closer to the floor below. Horrified that your body couldn't react as quickly as your eyes, you already prepared for the impending despair to come. However, as quick as your eyes were, Levi's body had swiftly dove, outstretching his lean, sinewy arms, gently cradling the bottle in his one hand.

"Holy shit, that was close," you blurt out aloud, thinking you had instead thought it in your head. 

"Tch, you should be more careful, and stop thinking the world is out there to hurt you. And you're welcome." Levi, brushing the non-existent dust from his knees, hands over to you the recently-rescued wine. 

"Oh...didn't realize I was even doing that...but thank you, Levi. It would have been a terrible shame if the wine had ended up all over the floor though. Hopefully all that effort wasn't for naught and you'll enjoy it." Blushing slightly, you happily tell him, truly relieved that you'll be able to taste this nearly-lost beauty.

"I have to warn you, I don't have much experience with wine, but I tend to like alcohol in general so I'm sure I will," He reassuringly says, although in truth, he was trying to comfort himself as it has been a while since he's last had a proper drink, and perhaps even decades since he's had wine...

"Ha ha, well, it's not like we'll be chugging this thing so I'm sure you'll be fine."

* * *

 _Wow, he's a bit more of a lightweight than I thought_. Granted, both of you were well into your second bottle and two hours have barely passed, but still.. At least he's not on the floor or anything and still consciously awake.

He has just been staring at you for quite some time without uttering a single word for the past ten minutes and his cheeks were beginning to gradually flush from what you assume to be the wine's doing. Squinting his eyes a bit, almost as if he's glaring but without any malice, he finally moves his lips.

"Why do you like wine so much?" He asks while curiously holding the glass in the oddest way you have seen, as he has all five of his fingers hovering over the glass' opening.  _How peculiar..._

"Eh?" You say from the sudden, random question.

"That's a loaded question...Well, I personally enjoy wine because they're like meeting new people... Each bottle is a gamble on how it'll turn out and how much of it will match your own tastes. You will never really know a person, or a bottle of wine, until you just go ahead and open them up, right? Did he age well? Or did you meet him at an immature time? Will he be on the drier side or is he a bit sweet? Will he enhance your meal and is worth spending an entire night with or is he just better saved for dessert? Will he make you feel excited and happy inside or make you become reflective and sad?"

Just before finishing your sixth glass, you breathe in its flavors and sigh in blissfully, acknowledging that this one was indeed a beauty and can even begin to feel some of its bewitching effects on your body. Letting the wine finally envelop your mouth before calmly swallowing and setting the glass down on the table gently, you continue, "Wine also has the amazing ability to enhances your senses, making you fully acknowledge and utilize your sense of sight, smell, touch, and taste..."

Levi had been listening to every single word that's been escaping your lips but he couldn't help himself from blatantly staring, switching from your eyes to your mouth, to your hands, to your body...

_Ugh, did she put something in here? No, that can't be, I watched her the entire time uncorking and pouring the bottles out. And she definitely consumed from the same bottles as me, if not even a bit more. Maybe the glasses themselves had been tainted? No, that's not it either because I was the one who randomly chose the two glasses from her glasses cabinet. What the fuck, why can't I stop staring!_

"Hmm, you seem to be enjoying the wine a fair bit, Levi. I have to admit, the wine aged quite nicely but it does feel a bit strong. Your body finally seems to be loosening up though," you let out a half-chuckle while facing him, his odd facial expressions having amused you for the past few minutes. 

Before you even noticed, Levi had walked around the table towards you, now sitting inches away with your face in front of his. He cups your soft face in his calloused hands, feeling the coarse skin rub against yours but you didn't mind, if anything, the rough sensation only excited your senses further. From that contact, you place your own hands on his neck, slowly gliding them up towards his head, simultaneous massaging and grabbing at his scalp and hair and hear the faintest of a moan depart from his lips.

As if that's his own cue, he closes the short distance between your faces and brushes his lips against yours, slowly trailing down your jawline only to revert back, gently biting down and pulling on your lower lip. Simultaneously, his hands are perusing your body, resting atop your shapely breasts, feeling through the dress and realizing you had no bra on as he can feel your already hardening nipples through the fabric. He lets out a deep growl at the thought of your naked body underneath. 

Although it continued with small pecks from Levi, he now slips his tongue past your lips, sending slight jolts throughout your body. You accept his tongue in your mouth and deepen the kiss with your own softly massaging his. Already feeling the wetness between your legs, you feel yourself becoming slightly impatient. 

You pull your face away slowly, licking his lips lightly before you do. You release your hands from his hair and start trailing down his chest with your fingers, making sure to tease his own nipples along the way. You begin caressing his chiseled abs but have your fingers continue to trail down to the waist of his jeans, pulling off his pants and lowering his emerald green boxer briefs. 

"W-wait..." He moans but before he can even finish his thought, your newly-swollen lips from the passionate kissing session moments ago are now on his other head of rapidly hardening cock.  _Wow,_ is all you can think with your eyes as you quickly scan his deceptively large member without trying to give away your impressed expression.  _I hope it just fits properly..._

You swirl your tongue in figure eights on the head and alternate it with sucking on it gently. Then, you slide your tongue alongside his shaft, up and down the entire length, before taking it into your mouth completely, making sure the head hits the back of your throat. While doing all of this, you make sure to maintain eye contact and stare straight into his eyes, wanting to see the reactions on his and the innate desire building up inside of him. You subtly purr in pleasure, the slight vibrations reverberating throughout his cock, surprising Levi with shivers throughout his entire body.

"Ahh...nnnnghh..." Levi can't even think straight, much less form coherent words.  _Shiit._ Although he's had his fair share of lovers, no, more like merely bed partners, throughout the years, he's never been  _intimate_  with anyone.  _This_  feels intimate. And getting to watch her do this to him.  _It's fucking sexy as hell. Shit. If this continues, there's no way I can hold out much longer._  

If he didn't do anything, he would definitely come soon, and there's no way he's going to end this so early. 

Sensing the slightest change in his expression and resolve, you slowly release his cock from your mouth, but not without sliding your mouth alongside it with some teeth, just enough to give the length of his shaft some well-executed pressure but not enough to cause any pain.

"Oh fuuckk...no, no, come here," Levi pants with some heavy strain, lying you alongside the bench with him on his knees on the floor at the edge, surprising you a bit that he stopped it all.

"Did you not like..." Before you can even finish asking him why he stopped you so abruptly, he's already lifted the hem of your dress to your waist and start licking alongside the inner parts of your thighs, steadily moving upwards. He then slips off the white lacy thong you had on, smirking a bit to himself at the thought, before sliding his index finger inside of you.

"Shit, you're so fucking wet, ___f/n___" he coos, feeling himself become somehow even harder. 

As he slowly slides his middle finger inside of you too, you can feel the walls of your vagina already tightening at the lascivious sensations.

"Fuck, and you're so unbelievably tight..." Levi murmurs more to himself in amazement and lustful anticipation. It's becoming increasingly painful to resist any further. 

"Unnghh...god, Levi...come...here...." You whisper but enough for him to hear, and he doesn't need to hear you say it twice. Since you're currently in your wine cellar and lying on the bench, you might as well use your surroundings to your advantage. Placing your knees on top of the bench with the palms of your hands on the edge of the table, this is a sloped version of a doggy style you imagine. Nevertheless, hopefully it'll feel just as great. 

Levi, trying to anticipate what you're planning, is again caught off-guard when he sees you on all fours, with the sexy dimples on your back and perfectly curved ass staring straight at him. Without any further prompting necessary, Levi deliberately moves his hands along your waist, sensuously touching your figure, sending slight shudders along your back. Unable to wait any longer, he rests his hands on each side of your waist and slowly enters inside of you, even a bit worried if he'll be too much for you. 

But all of his worries subside immediately when you begin moaning uncontrollably, powerless to merely containing all the pleasure forming inside of you. He can feel you gradually expanding around him, but still hugging his cock tightly, increasing the pleasurable sensations for the both of you.

"Fuck...Levi.........thi.......feels......amazing...." you exhale throughout breaths, feeling the burgeoning passion within the pit of your body close to its climax...

Levi feels how close you are, pumping into you a bit more zealously, and can hear the slap of his thighs hitting your ass as he's thrusting into you.  _God, I love it. I love_ _ **this**._

When he feels the walls around his cock tightening in intense waves, his mind goes completely blank as he joins you in ecstasy only a few moments after. Exhausted from the delirious wine consumption and the impromptu intimacy you two just shared, both of you were now sprawled on top of the table, still unable to register completely what just transpired. 

Realizing you're on top of a table meant for food and drink, you quickly get up from it and make a mental note to ask your maid to thoroughly clean it, perhaps even sanitizing it for good measure. 

"Ah, Levi, I'm going to go take a shower...it seems I'm dripping a bit..." You timidly say, embarrassed by what's happening and what you just uttered. 

"Shit, ___f/n___, are you trying to get me hard again already?" Suddenly, Levi lifts your slender still-naked body into his bare arms and carries you princess style up both sets of stairs towards the bathroom in the master bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bahh don't think im meant to write lemony scenes and unsure if i should make the next chapter one too or continue with the story =_=;; please let me know your thoughts / if you have any suggestions! thankyouu~~


	6. A Stranger First Impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean had only mentally registered that there was a strange man with a weapon in his hands coming closer to you from behind. Instinctively, he silently places all of the food he has been carrying for you onto the ground and runs towards the stranger at full speed, ready to tackle the midget-looking intruder.

Dawn gradually approaches as the sunlight peaks through your windowsill, naturally stirring you awake. Feeling a bit of a chill on your bare back, you turn towards your left to find nothing there except crisply tucked in sheets and the duvet neatly folded over. You feel like you're the anomaly in the room, being the reason the otherwise well-made bed has rumpled covers on your side of the mattress. By no means do you have any expectations from a semi-stranger you just spent the night with, but you still feel amiss with a slightly stinging sensation to your chest at the lack of Levi's presence and warmth.  _He could have at least had the decency to say good-bye._

Still, last night had been nothing short of... tantalizingly unreal and mesmerizing. As if Levi had captivated you by some unbreakable spell, making you lose control of your limbs and sanity. Your body just felt drawn to him, craving his touch and the deceptively chiseled contours of his form. You slightly blush from the memory, seeing as how it continued for two more salacious hours once the both of you made it into your bedroom but  somehow ended up on the bed before progressing into the bath...

Quickly brushing that thought aside, along with the tinge of disappointment from moments before, you begin to get ready for the day as you'll need to head to the clinic soon. After washing up, you put on a sleek, deep-emerald colored dress and tie your hair into a loose chignon, with a few tendrils delicately tracing the back of your neck. 

As you walk down the stairs towards the kitchen, you notice Mika sitting obediently on the floor next to someone with their back towards you reading the morning newspaper. 

"It's about time you woke up, I was wondering if I had to send Mika to fetch you." Levi says with the tiniest sliver of a teasing undertone without glancing from the newspaper. 

"Or you could have come up yourself," you jokingly quip back. Pleasantly surprised that this elusive man was still here.

"Well, unfortunately I was preoccupied making some real breakfast as it seems that someone lives purely off of breakfast bars and shakes." Levi responds, still not taking his eyes off the newspaper. 

"I like efficiency," you justify, seeing as how those bars and shakes pack most of the daily nutrients and vitamins your body requires to survive anyway, and cooking entire meals for just one person feels like a terrible hassle. Whenever you do cook, you always have the intention of sharing it with others, such as Eren and Sasha, who tend to gratefully consume anything you make, but naturally, isn't an everyday occurrence. 

"That just sounds like laziness to me," Levi finally lowers the newspaper to look at you as he says it, raising an eyebrow with a slight upward curving of his lips, believing he's just claimed a victory in your small morning banter.

"Ha, you definitely can't deny my efficiency then, because no matter how you look at it, I'm the one who got to sleep in and still have freshly prepared breakfast waiting for me," you can't help but say this with a wide, close-lipped grin, as you calmly stand next to Levi, with an outstretched arm to grab a plate from the table he has already set. However, before your hand even comes close to the plates, Levi seizes your arm and pulls your entire body down onto his lap, now with both of your feet dangling off of the left side on his lap as most of your body weight is on the other side supported by Levi's right arm. 

Almost with a coquettish grin from the look on your surprised face, he places his left hand softly on your face. He leans in closer to your face and begins to caress the center of both your top and bottom lips with the tip of his tongue before he gently continues inward, deepening the kiss. 

After a couple of minutes of this intimate and passionate struggle of both your mouths, Levi abruptly detaches himself from you and places both of your feet back onto the already unfamiliar ground. 

"Alright, now go and get some breakfast before you let your efficiency go to waste," he jokingly huffs, and although it seems like he has just admitted defeat in this battle, why does it feel like you're the one who lost the war?

* * *

With a fresh, new lab coat placed over your shoulders from your office's closet, you head out towards the lobby's reception to greet Eren and Sasha, most likely in that order, with the latter usually coming in frantically and starving because she didn't wake up in time to eat a proper breakfast. 

Luckily, due to there being some leftover eggs and bacon from Levi's lovely well-prepared breakfast, you toasted some bagels and after putting them in their respective containers, wrapped them up neatly with a silk cloth reminiscent of a furoshiki to give to your eternally energetic employees. 

"Morning, Dr. _last name_!" Eren enthusiastically exclaims as he walks through the doors towards you.

"Eren, I told you _first name_ is just fine." You kindly remind him again, seeing as he oftentimes addresses you by your degree even though you feel much more comfortable with just your name. 

"S-so so sorry, _first name_! I keep stupidly forgetting..." as he mentally kicks himself for involuntarily creating a formal barrier when that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"A-are those for us?" Eren asks, hoping to quickly move past the faux pas and onto the decoratively wrapped packages, one with a celadon-green colored silk cloth and the other a pale pink silk cloth. 

"Yes! The green one is yours, I thought the light-green silk would complement your brighter, emerald eyes. I had some leftover from breakfast and thought a hardy bagel sandwich will get you guys ready for the day," you say with a warm smile and twinkle in your eye as you present the delicately-dressed container to him.

"Thanks so much _first name_...but you know, I'm not a kid you need to take care of. I should be the one taking care of you!" Eren says sounding a bit defeated.

"But you already do! For everything you do for me and the clinic around here, these are just the littlest things I can do for you guys." You convey with the deepest feelings of genuine honesty and a warm smile. 

With the smile alone pulling at Eren's heartstrings, how could he properly oppose you? 

"Alright...but one of these days, you have to let me take you out to treat  _you_ to some food...and I won't take a bite out of anything you offer anymore unless you say 'yes,'" Eren confidently professes, without taking his unwavering eyes off of yours. 

"Okay, okay, I surrender," you facetiously tease as you raise up your hands in the air to complete your answer. 

"You can't take it back!! Keep this Friday night free, okay?!" You can almost see the mental back-flips Eren is doing in his head and you nod to affirm his question.

Like clockwork, Sasha bolts through the doors with a minute left to spare. 

"I...made it..." She heaves in the lobby. 

"Just in time, here Sasha, had a feeling you may have been running late this Monday morning and made you a breakfast bagel sandwich," you lean a bit closer to her and continue, "the one wrapped in pink has a bit more bacon in it." You give her a small wink to reinforce what you just said.

Within milliseconds you see Sasha seemingly teleport across the lobby to the reception's desk, grab the pink-silk-wrapped container, and have the sandwich in her mouth before you even feel like you completed one full blink. 

"Thrank yrou sho much!!" Sasha says heartily with her mouth full of bacon and overflowing with happiness. Although they may deny ever needing it, you can't help but feel a bit contented when they always receive your small gestures so with such open hearts, and usually coincidentally, open mouths.  

* * *

***_first name_'s cellphone ringtone playing***

You see the familiar number on your cellphone light up and answer the call.

"_first name_!! It has been too long and I bet you don't have anything to eat for dinner tonight, right?" 

"Hi Jean, well, now that you mention it..." A bit guilty that you haven't contacted him sooner but even more guilty that you really hadn't thought about dinner, for you or Levi.

"It's settled, I'll meet you at your place in about an hour and have everything already prepared, so just bring your appetite alright?"

"Haha, sounds good. I can't wait until I try what your cook, *ahem* I mean, what you cooked up this time!" 

"Hey! This time I was actually physically present in the kitchen, so you gotta give me some credit for that, right?" 

"Of course, I'll see you in a bit," you reply with a few muffled chuckles and hang up shortly after.

Jean Kirstein, your longtime childhood friend most likely from when both of you were still in your mothers' wombs as your fathers had been best friends since their own childhood. Your fathers even jokingly made a pact when you were both mere nine-year olds that you two will get married to each other once you graduated from college. You, naturally, took it as some harmless fun amongst adults, while Jean sometimes takes the joke a bit seriously at times. Still, you cannot deny that he has been an incredible friend after all of these years, and your best support system ever since you've lost your parents, always making sure to stop by and not dying of hunger.

Jean has grown into a fine, splendid man these past few years. Reaching almost six-feet tall, he still has an average build but the sliver of a defined, muscular silhouette can be seen even through his business suits and crisp shirts. He still has the same exact haircut all these years, trimmed along all the sides of his head except for the top, and still has the same ever-present scowl plastered on his face, except when he's with you. 

By all means, you definitely have _considered_ becoming romantically involved with Jean, he really was your best friend after all. But that in itself was a major deterrence. He was your childhood friend  _and_  still your best friend, you didn't want to ruin or risk something that precious to you. The real reason though, was that Jean, the way that he is now and the way that he is  _with_ you right now, sometimes reminds you of your past life, the life where both you and Jean were playing mindlessly with your parents chattering away in your backyard. Everyone being so uncommonly happy without a care in the world. You didn't want to give up those moments or even  _risk_  the possibility of not being able to remember memories like that. 

* * *

As you pull into your garage, you notice that no other car is in sight.  _Hm, it's natural that Levi would go out during the day I suppose._   _I wonder where he goes in a town he's unfamiliar with though?_

Just as you complete that train of thought and were about to lock your car, you see the exquisite Aston Martin pull up to the garage next to yours. You giggle a little as it seems that Levi has made himself completely at home, utilizing the middle garage as his own. Well, thankfully, there are three garages so Jean shouldn't have a problem finding his spot. 

The both of you head inside and you kindly ask Levi to pick out a nice bottle of wine for dinner, as you have informed him that your childhood friend will be coming over with a dinner he has prepared. Although you are quite anxious to ask him how he has spent his day, you refrain that topic of conversation for later in the evening. 

You begin setting the table and wineglasses when you hear the front door clicking open. 

"_first name_!! Did you get a new car? That's a hotass ride you bought! I brought over your favorite lasagna with some freshly-made garlic bread and of course, the mozzarella and tomato slices..." Jean's exclamations stopped abruptly as he noticed you were not alone in the kitchen. 

Jean had only mentally registered that there was a strange man with a weapon, which in reality was the wine bottle, in his hands coming closer to you from behind. Instinctively, he silently places all of the food he has been carrying onto the ground and runs towards the stranger at full speed, ready to tackle the midget-looking intruder. 

Before you even get the chance to turn around fully, you notice Jean has his face planted to the ground with his right arm twisted behind his back by Levi. Levi somehow is still gracefully cradling the wine bottle on his left arm, unscathed. 

"LEVI! What are you DOING!?" You shout in complete bewilderment.

"This horse-faced-looking shit ran at me from nowhere." Levi justifies with absolutely no remorse in his voice.

"Levi, let go, let _go_ of him! He's the childhood friend I just told you about!" You feel a bit sorry for Jean but this is such a comical scene, as Levi looks like he's holding the reins to a horse that has just collapsed, that you can't help but let a chuckle escape.

"_first name_!! Are you LAUGHING? Get this shrimp off of me already!" Jean groans under Levi's strength, completely incapacitated. 

"I really wouldn't open my mouth if I were you, wouldn't want you neighing all over the place and getting the neighbors concerned." Levi snickers. 

"Alright you two, Levi, please release Jean from your clutches and Jean, be a dear and please bring over the delicious dinner you have prepared for us?" You say soothingly, hoping to calm the both of them down.

Levi deftly gets up and begins to uncork the wine bottle as if nothing violent had transpired just moments ago, whereas Jean falteringly gets up. 

"You know, _first name_, this dinner was  _just_  for you..." Jean reveals with a crushed and defeated voice. He slowly drags his feet towards the front door where the bags of food he placed before are. 

"More the merrier, right?" You rhetorically say with a bit  _too_  much cheer. You really do hope their first impressions of each other are not indicative of the rest of dinner... _Maybe I should decant a few more bottles of wine just in case..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, reviews and thoughts appreciated! :]


	7. A Stranger Scuffle

Dinner…could have hypothetically been…much, much worse.

For instance, an unforeseen and unexpected meteorite the size of Venus could have hurled itself towards Earth and destroyed all traces of our existences during our meal this evening. Although, maybe _that_  kind of universal catastrophe would have abated the increasing tension tonight...

At least the food Jean’s chef prepared satiated everyone’s hunger, marginally reducing the extent of Levi and Jean’s simmering disdain for each other. They hastily rushed through small-talk introductions with curt responses.

Jean confessed he works as a lobbyist for some of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies, of which Levi blatantly scoffed at his chosen occupation. He admonished the fact that lobbyists are merely cushy, well-funded political liaisons for immoral companies to legalize their corruption within the system. After learning about Levi’s curtailed military background, Jean was only able to muster up a small groan, having always respected military personnel, especially those that served in the elite forces.

“So why the hell are you still  _here_ ,” Jean sneers with a twisted face of expressing contempt, as he clears his second plate of homemade beef bourguignon.

“Jean,” with a softer tone than usual, “I told you he didn't know anyone else in town and is staying in the meantime for Mika’s health.”

“That does not answer why he is  _HERE_ ,” Jean reiterates acrimoniously. You don’t think you have ever witnessed Jean this enraged or frustrated from all of the decades you have known him, even when you practically forced him to wear a ballerina outfit this one time during your childhood so that you can perform a proper pas de deux in front of both of your parents.

 “Are you deaf? Or just an idiot,” Levi derides.

 “Also, can’t complain about the nice company,” Levi continues while shamelessly extending the right corner of his lips seemingly halfway through to his cheek. This is definitely the widest grin you've ever seen him show.

 “WHY YOU LITTLE…” Thank goodness Jean's dinner plate was polished off clean moments before because sauce would have splattered everywhere from the plate teetering wildly as he abruptly stood up from his seat.

 “Jean! Why don’t you come with me to the cellar and help me pick out the next bottle of wine? It seems we've already gone through four bottles in the blink of an eye…”

 “Ugh, fine, fine…” Jean acquiesces, his anger physically dissipating and leaving his body at your suggestion, allowing you to drag him along down the cellar.

* * *

 “_First name_, you have to get that guy out of here. There’s something just so…off about him. He can be a wanted criminal or a serial killer for all you know!” Jean pleads while simultaneously surveying your expansive collection of wine.

 “Come on, Jean, I already conducted a background check on him and everything’s he’s told me so far has been true. And also, if push comes to shove, you know even I can take you down long enough to run away,” you say as you smile slyly at him.

“Pfft, that’s because that one time I let you…anyway, how much longer is that guy bumming here for?” Jean asks while cradling a medium-bodied Riesling.

“Ah, that’ll be perfect for tonight, slightly sweet with hints of apricots and peaches with a crispy finish. Great choice, Jean.”

“Learn from the best,” Jean beams back, making you realize he really is the most handsome when he smiles genuinely and innocently like this.

“And…I’m not sure how long Levi will be here until, well I would assume at least until Mika gets better…” You hesitantly reply back to his earlier question.

“Purely because of that dog? If that’s the reason, I’ll go ahead and adopt her. For a dog, she sure is a beauty... And then  _he_  can continue on his merry way to wherever the hell else he wants.”

“Jean, first off, you don’t even know the first thing about taking care of a dog. Secondly, Mika seems to possess absolutely zero interest in you. If anything, it seems like she completely ignores your presence whenever you enter a room…”

“That’s because she doesn't  _know_  me  _yet_! Not everyone has the ability to enrapture people into falling in love with them at first sight, _first name_.”

“Ha, stop teasing, Jean, the last time I had someone “fall” for me was back in high school, and even then I’m not sure if you could call  _that_ love.”

“Well that’s not tr…” but Jean swiftly changes his thought as he figures this is definitely not the moment to get into or confess one’s unrequited love of over two decades.

“Well, that’s not the point. I’m just…really worried about you…” Jean casts his eyes downwards, as he doesn't want you to see what must seem like the defeated eyes of a puppy who sees his owner sauntering away, abandoning him forever. 

“I know, and I’m so thankful to have someone like you in my life to care for me, but I’m a grown woman now and I can more than handle myself and then some.” You say reassuringly, gently resting your hand on his forearm that’s holding onto the wine bottle.

“But…aren't you…lonely? Especially in this big house all by yourself…” Jean finally lifts his downcast head to look into your eyes.

“Hm…honestly? I do…only sometimes though…but I have the clinic, volunteering at the shelter and you to keep me company throughout my days.” You haven’t really given this much thought these past few years, not that you actually would want to commit any time to it. Thoughts like these only resurface the hidden chests of painful memories and realizations that you've been fiercely trying to move on from.

You've never felt an iota of loneliness growing up before, but after witnessing the brutal murder of both your parents, you've fully understood the distinctive meaning the word surreptitiously hides beneath its simple letters. You were actually a fairly independent child who relished her “alone” time, going off on your own adventures or getting lost in other mystical worlds with the help of a good novel.

But feeling  _lonely_  was a monster you've never encountered or had any experience with. None of your heroes or heroines ever faced an invisible demon such as this. It was a gut-wrenching feeling that sneaks up on you and slowly gnaws at your insides, starting in the pit of your stomach before expanding infinitely into all of the crevices of your mind, making your worst fears a tangible reality. The painful feeling was reminiscent of drowning into the depths of a dark abyss, lungs straining for oxygen, eyes blurring from the salty sea, your mind mentally exhausting itself, without a soul around you to hear your cries or see your pain.

Thankfully, pursuing your passion for rehabilitating animals ended up rescuing you in the end instead and you were able to come up for air and just breathe. Overtime the constant and acute pain subsided, although you still feel a certain level of numbness that feels impossible to get rid of completely. Still, with the help of your clinic, animal patrons, Eren, Sasha, Jean and even Levi, you've been able to slowly escape from the bottomless void that imprisoned your entire being. 

 "You know, Jean, I don't know if you fully understand how grateful I am for you not only being my friend all of these years but for also being my number one supporter, no matter how many times I've fallen or seem to have given up..." You wholeheartedly say to Jean as you look up at his face.

"_First name_..." As Jean timidly lifts his free arm towards your waist, his toned forearm lightly skimming the top of your bare arm, while contemplating bringing his face closer to yours...

"Hey, you guys camping down there or what!? I can ferment the fresh grapes from the fridge into wine faster than you guys are at choosing one bottle of it." Levi bellowed sarcastically from door opening above the stairs. 

Jean quickly lowers his free arm and needlessly carries the one wine bottle with both of his hands out of the cellar and towards the kitchen.  __I am seriously going to obliterate that runt one of these days_... _  Hating Levi for not only ruining his potential moment, but hating himself for so easily believing in the possibility. 

What  _was_ _that_ ? You are left confused and perplexed by the brief moment of tension  _not_ created by Jean and Levi as you follow mindlessly up the stairs.  _Ack, maybe I did drink a bit more than I thought._ Chalking it up to the alcohol and the uncomfortable unease and hostility present throughout the entire night, you decide to ignore the awkward moment as an ephemeral fluke. 

Another hour bleeds by as we finish up the remaining wine.

“_First name_, even though I  _really_  don't want to, I have to leave now because of an early morning meeting tomorrow, but call me the  _instant_  this guy does anything shady. Then call the police.” Jean says while embracing you before he leaves, a bit louder than a whisper as you’re sure he glared at Levi while saying these words. And that Levi heard it all.

 “I will, I will,” you say reassuringly, “I already called your driver to come with someone to take you and your car home. They should be outside by now.”

 “Always my savior…” Slurring the last word a bit with his back facing you, he stumbles outside into the arms of his driver.

While waving off the disappearing black sedans, you decide to stay outside for a moment longer in order to enjoy the gentle night breeze and deep aubergine sky, thousands of stars poking through the natural canvas illuminating its luminous light. 

Only then did you notice a different black sedan driving up onto your driveway. Believing that Jean had mistakenly called for car service before his driver picked him up, you walked closer to the end of the driveway to pay for the misunderstanding and send him back on his way. 

However, you feel a bit apprehensive about the oncoming sedan. Similar to the feeling of someone following you in the dead of night, one too many streets to call it mere coincidence. 

Then you notice it. Thanks to your well-lit driveway, you can clearly see how its license plate doesn't actually contain proper alphanumeric characters, but merely symbols and disjointed lines that resemble legible font. You also notice that the cars' windows are tinted intensely opaque, definitely under the state's minimum visible light transmission. 

Although you've been religiously honing your  _hapkido_  techniques ever since your toddler body had the ability to run, you admit that you have been slacking ever since you opened up your veterinary practice the past few months. Still, your intuition is sharp as ever, hopefully your body will benefit from muscle memory and the years of constant back-breaking training.  _Thank god I changed out of my dress and into pants before dinner...but damn it, out of all the nights, I chose tonight to wear my Elie Saab jumpsuit from his S/S 2014 collection and its completely white besides the beautiful, floral design on the neckline and shoulders. Fuck, these better not get dirty because of them..._

One thing you detested more than thugs in front of your house? Stains on white things, especially your pristine, white clothing. Which is precisely the reason why you have more than ten white lab coats in your office, for instances when blood or other bodily fluids blemish them throughout the day. 

All four doors of the sedan open.  _Okay, so there are at least four people in the car_ , you calmly think to yourself as you try to assess the situation as best and quickly as you can.  _  
_

 _Shit, okay, so five._ All of the figures getting out of the vehicle, looks like four men and one woman, donned completely black attire, black trousers, black dress shirt, black jacket, and even a pair of obnoxious ski goggle-esque sunglasses that covered half of their faces. 

_Ugh, feels like a funeral in the Alps. How tacky._

Throwing aside all normal civilian etiquette or even a decent greeting, you see the man from the passenger seat quicken his strides and begin lunging at you. You smoothly dodge just a few inches to the right of his punch, and strike your fist into his face, likely shattering his nose.

Drops become a stream of blood pouring out from this Al Capone-wannabe's equally prominent nose. Without even giving him a chance to raise his arms to nurse his newly dented face, you immediately knee him in the groin and finish him off by grabbing his arm and propelling him over your shoulder, slamming him into the ground unconscious. Likely from the impact, blood loss, or the pain. Or a combination of all three. 

 _Poor, bloody fool._ You gather your bearings and solidify your stance by grounding both of your feet to the ground. Thankfully,  _hapkido_  utilizes leverage more than brute strength but you can feel the lack of regular practice in your atrophying muscles. 

This time, two decide to approach you, now a bit more cautious than the first. 

Learning from their first comrade's mistake, one of the two men instead grabs a hold of your right wrist, believing it should immobilize your arm from any attacks. However, you swiftly raise the momentarily imprisoned arm up to shoulder level with the elbow pointing towards your opponent's face, spreading outwards. Simultaneously, you slightly rotate your body towards the ruffian and with your free left arm, push into the outside of his straightened arm's elbow, causing immediate pain at his hyper-extending elbow. With the assistance of gravity, you continue the downward motion of his body and knock him into the ground, breaking his arm at the joint for good measure and letting it limply fall to the ground. 

You were never a violent person or ever had any aggressive tendencies. But after witnessing the cold-blooded murder of your defenseless parents, you became acutely aware that people who were existed, and probably blended in with the rest of society as normal, complacent civilians. Thus, you learned as much self-defense and striking techniques that will incapacitate anyone that chooses to cause you harm. You wonder if you would ever be able to take it a step further and eternally steal their last breath on Earth from them, but thankfully you've never had to worry about that possibility. 

You can feel your muscles straining, your body showing the beginning signs of enervation, even catching your breath becoming a struggle. The guys you just took down were substantially taller, heavier, and stronger in terms of brute force, but thankfully you were able to use their bulky size against them. However, the remaining three people seemed smaller in statue, likely more agile, and unfortunately, they've had the opportunity to watch your fighting patterns between two separate opponents, while theirs is a complete mystery to you. 

The shortest of them all begins taking a few calculated steps towards you. Simultaneously she lifts her right arm and releases a gun from its holster, pointing it straight at you.

"Annie, you can't! Boss wants her  _alive_!" One of the remaining men frustratingly reminds the woman holding the weapon. 

"Whose to say we didn't try our best to keep her alive but in the struggle of things unfortunately had to be put down?" She smiles with a wicked grin while saying this ever so casually.

Standing only a few yards away, she raises her gun towards your head. You can't help but think how painfully fitting this is, to follow your parents exactly the same we they had left this world. This is not how you wanted to it to end. You still didn't get to figure out anything behind your parent's murder, the government's involvement or how your parents fit into their plans in the first place.  _This is it, huh. How...unsatisfying._

Then all of a sudden you hear the reverberating sound of a gunshot, but the sound didn't originate in front of you. The first thing you realize is the gun flying out of "Annie's" hand and tumbling along the driveway. Her hand is bleeding profusely but her face is stoic as ever.  **  
**

"I believe you have extended your welcome here and unless you want to die shitting your pants, I would recommend taking your leave. Now." You realize that's Levi's voice as you immediately turn around and see your savior. _That was terribly close._

The woman called Annie silently signals to the rest of her men to load the unconscious fools from the ground and get back into the car. They quickly speed away, creating awful skid marks on your driveway. 

"L-Levi...I'm..." You stumble your words a bit as you begin to slowly digest the shock of the entire situation that enfolded in before you.

"Your fighting skills aren't bad. A bit rusty I have to admit though," Levi says with a teasing smirk.

"...Were you...watching??" You sputter with a hint of embarrassment and indignation as he could have at least shown up to help you instead of just creepily  _watching_  you fight off men twice your size. 

"I wanted to see your abilities for myself. I wouldn't want to be stuck babysitting a liability." 

"Excuse you?" Now you're getting mad. On top of the exhaustion and shock from the unplanned melee, you're now being treated as some petulant child.  _Who the fuck does this guy think he is..._ you think to yourself with a scowl on your face, furrowing your eyebrows at him. 

"Relax, that was a compliment." Levi says, sensing your growing frustration. 

"But we should get out of here immediately, at least for now. You never know if those government goons will be coming back with an entire army as their entourage."

_Wait. They work for the government? Why would military personnel come after **me**??_

 "_First name_, you probably have a couple of questions, but first, we gotta get out of here." He hurriedly says, whistling for Mika to come and get into his car. 

"W-w-wait a minute..." You try to say, hoping you can at least properly collect your thoughts and prepare some belongings if you are indeed leaving your home for an undetermined amount of time. 

"Ugh, I told you, we have no time," Levi then swoops you off the ground and proceeds to drop you onto the passenger seat of his convertible. 

"Annie and the others likely have reported to headquarters already regarding what happened and will probably send many more, heavily armed personnel this time around." 

With Mika panting happily behind you in the backseat, a stern-face Levi driving next to you, and an unfamiliar road ahead of you, you internally confess that although you are scared of the unknown, more than anything, you are feeling adrenaline and some excitement about the entire ordeal. Because, if those strangers in black are truly sent from the government, you may finally be able to get some unresolved answers regarding your parents' deaths. 

"So...where are we exactly going, Levi?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oofs first attempt at writing out an action sequence/scene...and although in my head everything happens so seamlessly...it may not properly get across in writing pupupuee X_X additionally, it may seem like a lot is occurring without much explanation but i wanted everyone to be a bit dazed and confused by everything just like the reader...:P
> 
> but now that we're passed that, here are some explanations (but please let me know if there's anything utterly and hopeless confusing that you'd want an explanation for).
> 
> Annie, indeed refers to Annie Leonhart, and this was basically a special ops mission for her and her team in capturing a person of interest, aka the reader, sent by the government. Although Levi USED to work for the military/government, he definitely no longer supports them now as he's learnt of some of the atrocities and human experimentation they've forced upon its own people (no, no, no zombies...or are they...lol jk kinda) but instead works for another organization (which will be elaborated upon the next chapter).
> 
> merci beaucoup for reading and as always, appreciate any feedback :D gawrsh, and im craving french food now...and wine :S


	8. A Stranger Cabin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the unknown possibility that "Annie" and her entourage will make an unwelcome appearance again, Levi takes you and Mika out on a drive to another location. Unbeknownst to you, he seems to be heading to the middle of nowhere and proving to completely unhelpful when asked where the destination actually is located.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SO TERRIBLY SORRY for the insanely unforgivable delay to EVERYONE who still keeps up with my story and for continuing to follow it. I really, REALLY do appreciate you all and am so thankful from the bottom of my heart :) I have just been out of the country most of August and then deathly sick for the past two weeks with some unknown hacking cough i may have picked up from another country/continent x_x;;; BUT, recovering now and hoping to get into the groove again writing this story out :D

Luckily, before officially leaving your home for an indeterminate amount of time, you were able to pack a few essentials, which included your coveted blue electric crocodile Birkin brimming with cash, since the usage of credit cards or any other methods of payment can potentially track your spending and thus, your location. If somehow the miniature hill of cash is not enough, you can always pawn off the bag itself for fifty large, easily (seeing how the bag is worth more than double that on the market). Although, never the one to be particularly materialistic, you cannot deny the internal tears that you would be crying if the handbag ever did leave your ownership. 

Levi had assured you that he had already packed some necessities and even some of your belongings, which gave you some relief and gratitude at his intuitive foresight. However, "necessities" was a complete overstatement as you quickly realize that he only seemed to have packed your underwear, bras, and negligees, in terms of clothing at least.

You raise an eyebrow reflexively towards Levi, and noticing your glare from his peripheral, says blatantly without even a soupçon of guilt,

“I only managed to swipe things from your top drawer and those were the items closest to my reach.”

"And I suppose you only managed time for my lingerie dresser located in the farthest corner of my room, bypassing the vanity dresser and even the walk-in closet that would naturally be replete with actual clothing I could wear," you sarcastically respond. 

"Well, you can always wear them around me," Levi says ever so casually with the slightest of grins marking his face, his eyes never leaving the road ahead.

With a muted chuckle, you imagine doing just that around him. Him eyeing you lasciviously in the very lingerie he ultimately chose and his hands caressing your body once again...

"So...where are we exactly going, Levi?" You say a bit too hurriedly and frantically, trying to distract your mind from inappropriate thoughts.

"Exactly? Middle of a forest an hour away from here." The remnant of his grin still visible on his face.

"Ha, ha," you sardonically retort, "knew you were a quipster, Levi, but I would never have pegged you as a jokester."

"I'm not joking. And besides, the center of a forest would be difficult to explain its exact location. Do you want me to tell you which trees it should be near?"

You give him your most menacing glare, but quickly release the muscles in your brows as you realize he's semi-right and getting wrinkles over something like this is a complete and utter waste. Now that you think about it, why  _is_  Levi heading towards the middle of a forest? Well, honestly, it's a bit too late to fear the possibility of driving into an unknown place with a serial killer. You indeed invited a complete stranger to live with you.  _Oh god, Jean would love to know that his hunches were right...but then again, hopefully not._

This eerily does remind you of the Molalla Forest Killer, who was known to rape, butcher, and eviscerate his victims and then dump the bodies within the Molalla Forest. That abominable excuse of a human being was originally sentenced for the death penalty in 1989. However, due to the incredibly heinous justice system that this country allows some of its states and still prevails to this day, he is awaiting his  _fourth_ sentencing trial this very year.  _W_ _hat has happened to our "justice" system? What has happened to humanity for people like that to eve  come into existence without any real punishment??_

Overtime, you have questioned the slowly degenerating condition of humanity and mankind. Beginning from your innocent childhood sympathies towards abused animals, then to witnessing your parents' brutal murder, and finally learning on a national scale the unfair inequality that still permeates throughout most of this country's citizens.  _Well, at least I'm not worrying about a hypothetical psychopathic Levi anymore, seeing as how the state of this country's affairs are somehow even more depressing and horrific at times._

"The cabin should be somewhere near here..." Levi mutters more to himself.

_Hmm..._  Now you're a  _tad_  worried. It seems the car already ventured away from whatever dirt road of a path it was on a few minutes ago. Well, thanks to your acknowledgement of your own fragile mortality, you consequently update your will regularly, giving most of your property and assets to charity but some of your heirlooms will go to Jean and his family. You've decided to give the animal practice to Eren and ensure Sasha's employment as well.  _Oh SHIT. Eren. I completely forgot I was supposed to meet him this Friday evening._

You hastily take out your phone only to realize, you have absolutely no cellular service in this damn Forest of Giant Trees, for lack of a better name. Thankfully, you left Eren a message before your abrupt departure from your home that you'll be taking some time away for the next few days and to take care of the practice in your absence. But you completely forgot about Friday's dinner with him. And he looked so happy too when you finally consented.  _Shit damn._

"You know, I'm not going to kill you or anything here," Levi says not particularly reassuringly, seeing the obvious frown on your face and complete look of defeat from realizing your phone has no service after your frenzied search for it. 

"Thanks for your  _immensely_  encouraging words but that's not what I'm worried about...at the moment. I just had promised to meet with Eren this Friday and that's clearly not going to happen now and I feel absolutely terrible."

"Tch, the brat will get over it. Broken hearts become stronger when they eventually heal." Levi says matter-of-factly with the faintest trace of bitterness. 

"What do you mean broken hear..." but before you can finish your thought questioning Eren's non-existent broken heart, the car slows down in front of a very run-down cabin surrounded by enormous trees reminiscent of California redwoods with heights upwards of 380 feet or 115 meters. 

It appeared to be a single-floor log cabin and judging from its tiny size, you had a feeling there was only one main room in the entire "house." Still, this definitely beats camping out on the forest floor so you don't have any complaints. 

Levi parks the car and starts carrying some of the luggage from the trunk towards the cabin, as well as whistling for Mika to jump out of the car. Taking that as your cue, you get out as well along with your bags. 

Even though you have at least a thousand and one questions running through your head, you figure that its better to get settled and assess your surroundings inside. 

Levi takes out a rustic key from his back pocket and unlocks the front door, probably the only door, of the compact cabin. Unsurprisingly, the inside is characteristically bare with absolutely no furnishings. The only pieces of furniture is a small circular table with two wooden chairs off to one side of the wall near a window and a fairly large armoire dresser in the diagonally opposite far corner that seems to take up a tenth of the entire home's floor space. 

"Don't put anything down yet and just follow me," Levi says without any additional instruction and starts walking towards the armoire. You notice that, even though this house is tinier than some studios in New York City, it has four light switches all in a row, next to the wall running perpendicular to the armoire.  _That's a bit excessive_. 

Levi begins flicking the switches in what appeared random at first, but was actually in a very particular order. After the 12th flick, you hear the faintest whirring sound of machines under your feet. Then the armoire slides on top of a moving floorboard across the floor towards the other side of the cabin, leaving a large rectangular hole in its place. But the vacancy is fleeting as a metallic elevator quickly replaces the void from underground. 

Before the elevator opens to what could be strangers or worse, unwanted trespassers, Levi stands in front of its right-side door, allowing the machine to scan his retina and palm. Deeming Levi as an acceptable guest, the doors of the elevator open for us to enter into its fluorescent-lighted chambers. 

"Wow, that's a brilliant lock and security system. If only my father could still see this..." You say in hushed admiration and nostalgia. 

"Your father actually helped build this out for us. He wanted to originally have the lock system involving some sort of a grand multi-bookcase sequence...but that'd be too obvious in this cramped shithole now wouldn't it?" 

You can't help but chuckle at the thought, knowing exactly that's what your father would have thought. But wait a moment, why was your father here? Why was he helping Levi?

Reading the confusion on your face and what is likely in your thoughts, Levi answers, "Your father was an incredible help to us. He was a generous benefactor to our mission and allowed us access to the intelligence he possessed, which was invaluable." 

_Who's us? Why was Father helping them?_

You knew your father worked for the government, since you've met all of his colleagues and various politicians throughout the years in galas and event gatherings but most certainly do not recognize Levi in any of them.  _Just who is Levi..._

"I understand this is probably a lot to take but all of your questions will be answered once we head underground to our base, safe from any risk of outsiders listening in." With a shortened sigh, as if trying to retract all the extra verbiage that spilled from his mouth, he calmly says,

"Just trust... in me."

Levi steps inside the elevator doors and gestures his hand towards you, silently asking you to take it.

Even though his brusque mannerisms and harsh words leave a lot to be desired at times, Levi has never deceived you nor has he ever given you any reason to distrust him. And right now, staring into his piercing eyes that are no longer stoic, you can tell he's asking you to have faith in him. 

Without any hesitation, you outreach your hand towards him and enter inside. With the closing of the elevator doors, you begin your descent into the truth behind your father, the real perpetrators behind your parents' murder who are pulling all the strings, and how you may never have been a complete stranger to Levi. 

Without regrets, you completely trust him and are willing to follow him to however far down the rabbit hole goes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wahh, slowly but surely, more and more of the story will start to make sense, i promise (and hope)! i have this awful excel spreadsheet of the character developments and plots i want to include throughout my story and naturally, once i start writing, end up not including most of it TT_TT i'll try and update the next part of this story soon as i know this is an awful place to stop but i immensely appreciate your patience~~ and as always, let me know your thoughts and if there's anything you'd want to see in the story or need further clarification on.


End file.
